1973 Rickenbacker 330 Semihollow Electric Guitar

Here's a cool old Rickenbacker 330 that was just in for some setup work. As per the usual, the truss rod nuts had been forced into a down position in the access area as the instrument aged, so a little minor excavation at the rod pocket was needed to get them to function correctly.

That done, the rest of the setup was quick and easy. I like these "soft shoulder" Rickenbackers with their rear-fit binding. They're lightweight and cozy in the lap, for sure, with their "built-in contour" sort-of feel. These '70s ones come with the high-output "mushroom" single coil pickups, too, which are a little bit more "hot Fender" in sound than the older, toaster-style pickups which are more like DeArmond Goldfoils but with less sizzle and more mellow. I like them quite a bit!

The sheer cost of Rickis may rub salt into the wounds of their fans, but there really isn't anything out there that's quite like them. They've got a thing.